Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-11-16
HUNTING LEOPARDS.
How the Larger Specimens Are TAX
en- - Animals Trained to Rum
Down NntelopeS-

belonged more properly TO chapter III
the ARABIAN Nights" than TO trea-
tisa on natural history, and yet the ac-
are mainly true. The animal
itself has become almost familiar. The
London Geological Garden has a very
fine specimen. He Is lodged in the lion
house, and is next door neighbor to one
of the fiercest tigers in the garden
His habits are not to be judged from
his company. lie is a quiet, attacha-
ble brute. living on terms Of familiarity
with his keeper, under whose careSSeS
he will puTr III manner understood To
express delight, but 10 uninltiated ears
sufficiently formidable. Indeed, lie Is
in many WAYS a contradiction and
There Is a great deal of
the dog about him. lie is long legged
and hard footed. Ills claws are strong
and broad, like those of a fox terrier,
and as lie Jumps about his cage the foot
strikes the ground firmly and not with
the silent velvet pressure of the tiger
or the puma, and Yet his head and in
deed the whole cf bis anatomy shows
him to be a cat. TIE Prince of Wales,
on his return fr.m India, brought a
pair of these leOT ards with him. They
were very tame. and 1t was hoped they
would breed i'll Jhc gardens.
But LOndOusrs We're familiar with
the creature long before ali wild
animals were lodged ia the Regents
Pork. At the end of the last century,
when Seriugapatam was stOrmed,
among the treasures of Tippo Sahib's
palace were three highly trained leop-
ards. These were esteemed of such
value that they We're sent to England
and presented TO the King, and George
III added them 10 the menagerie at the
Tower. They seem TO thrive i'll Eng
land, though they do not multiply.
The training of them Is not a very COM
plicated process. Nature does most of
II. The natives maintain that Tor true
sport YOU must commence your train
ing with the fully grown animals. The
desirable iierceneSs and ileetneSS are
only thus to be secured. The natives
have, indeed. the same idea about
hawks.
To English ideas the sport seems
curiOusly tame and uneveutful. The
leopard is brought out i'll bullock cart,
with a kind of mask that covers its
eyes. y chain 5 also slipped round its
Ions. 1t is quite tame, knowing its
keeper and anticipating the sport The
cart drives along, accompanied by the
SpOTtSmen, to a spot which the herd Of
antelOpeS will presently cross in their
course. The does all go first, the black
buck-the pride of the heilOck-invariably
brings up the re.U. The motive Is as
cTIUed To jealousy and desire To keep
his females all under his eye. What
ever the motive, the position is fatal TO
him. At the proper moment the hood
IS slipued off the cheetah'S head, and
his prey Is shown him. | Mike the dog,
he seems to hunt 10y sight, and not by
scent. lie lCOks keenly about him for
one moment, and then drops off the
cart, generally at the off side, using it
Tor 4 cover is long rs lie can.
If there are trees OF any rising ground
he Is quick 10 take advantage of them,
and then makes his burst upon his
quarry. lie almost invariably chooses
the buck, but he runs him down by
sheer EeetneSS. This Is the meaning of
those dOg-like claws and the great
length Of the limb that makes him look
almost out of proportion III the lions
home at the Regent Park, where all the
other catlike creatures - tigers, Loop
ards, lauarS, pumas and lions - are
short-legged and crouching. The speed
Is scarcely TO lie cTcdited-there Is no
English gray hound that can run down
a doe antelope. But ii is sorry sport at
beSt-if, indie ed, II can be called sport
at all. The cheetah springs GA the
back OF the buck, stTangles it, and laps
up its blood. The huntsman comes up,
cuts the throat of the antelope and, let
ting the blood flow into wooden cup,
gives 1t to the cheetah, watching his
time when the creature is gorged TO
slip the hood over his eyes and lead him
back to the cart.
The natives give their accounts of
the animal more piCtuTeSquely and the
native accounts are still 10 be found in
the natural history books. In a wild
state the Cheetah feeds itself only every
three days, goTgiug itself on these oc-
CaSIOns and lying cOInatOSc during the
intervals. The specimen ut the loo
logical Gardens Is pretty active al day
and falls III with the regulation hours
as to food with great dOcility and even
with Zest. In their pursuit of prey
they are social and III that way differ
from most of the other carniyora. Two
or three of them Will meet AT night and
go forth on their hunting expeditions
in company. II is by asceTtaining place
Of tTyst that the natives are alrle 10 cap
ture them. Ii Is very often by the
trunk OF a tree, which is found all
scratched and harked 10y their claws.
NOoSeS and meshes are driven into the
ground. Tie leUpar,ls come bounding
over the grass and are soon caught.
y blanket IS flung over the head and
the creature Is tied and carried OF.
One of the fdyOrite theories of the ma
tIveS, which is repeated over and over
again In the books, Is that when the
trained leopard misses his stroke lie can
not recover his breath quick enough for
a second bound and the herd passes
from him in safety Then he gets eX-
tremely agitated, runs IN and down
until his temper subsidies, and is at last
carted and again let slip on fresh quarry.
Ii Is picturesque kind of notion, but
most men who have seen antelope hunt
ing in the East viii be able To qualify
its application. The leopard does not
show this temper To any extreme extent,
and, in fact, Is making another bound
on his prey before the antelope can get
of or the temper can Use. Nor Is the
popular idea that he must he caught
adult in order TO secure the perfection
Of his hunting qualities quite correct
He Is a tamable creature, ana, there
fore, even when an adult, can be man
aged, but those who have brought up
cheetah kittens will realize that 1t needs
no training to make them crafty their
carniyorouS InClInationS. Major .Jer-
don had one that followed him about
like a dog, racing after him when he
took his rides, But when 1t grew up it
showed soon enough that it was uatur-
ally given TO hunting. Its attacks on
sheep had to be prevented, and several
hOrsewhippings made it realize that
they were under special protection. y
donkey defended himself successfully
with his heels.
The chectah was in such matters
quick to take a hint, ami had "a good
memory. Its training was commenced
on gazelleS, but 1t SOON attained the
dignity of Bringing down antelopes.
Its owner mentioned one peculiaritv in
proof that it hunted by sight and not
by scent, 1t was YeIy fond or mount
ing a stack of hay or thc trunk OF a